THE NASTY NEW BIRD THATS A BITER
NERVOUS, BITING OPPOSIT SEX OWNERS
THE NAUGHTY TAME BIRDS THAT GROWN UP BITERS..
NEVOUS BIRDS WARY OF PEOPLE & HANDS..
NICE EASY BIRDS WHO LIKE PEOPLE
First a few tips to make life easier for you.
Taming, can start before young leave the nest with your own home bred birds. With bought birds you can start as soon as they have settled into their new cage
In the evening prior to your chosen taming days, provide your birds with only a basic seed mix diet & use any or all the other food items in very small portions as taming treats. Millet spray alone soon loses its appeal.
Birds eat a wide variety of fruit, veg, nuts, hard boiled eggs etc, etc. so don't stick with a limited selection for their dietary needs.
I normally train eight birds in a cage at the same time so the shyest birds learn from their more forward cage mates. One, two or eight birds, the taming method is the same, allow the shyest bird set the pace....
Don't let them out of their cage till they are all happy to perch on your hand to eat the treat every time it's offered.
Any chasing & catching can ruin any bond already built-up between you.
Many birds are fearful & hate being clasped in the hand.
Keeping birds caged for a few days will not cause them harm in any way,either mentally or physically.
With nervous birds, cover half the cage to make them feel safe & secure & take care not to stand over them like a predator.
With nervous birds cover half the back, sides & top of the cage to give a sense of security. Talk softly to your bird at every opportunity, don't stand over them like a predator. When hand feeding inside the cage use a hanky fixed to the bar above the door with clothes pegs as a safety curtain to prevent a bird escaping. In the cage provide a basic seed mix, all other foods can be withheld & used as treat foods during taming.
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TAMING THE NASTY BITING BIRD..
Feed the treat held in your fingers through the bars. Watch their body language & any attempt to bite. Use Chopsticks if the biting is realy bad. & remove your hand & the treat for 10 seconds. Do this as often as necessary. Give the treats little & often, so your visits mean nice things to eat. Eventually after a day or two of successful no bite feeding, your ready to try hand feeding inside the cage. Hold the treat close to the perch so they can eat, again watch the body language & the remove treat for any sign of aggression.. After a day or so of successful no bite feeding your bird should be happy to step-up on your hand to eat. When this is accomplished you can take your bird from the cage for a fly round, knowing you can return them with a treat in the cage & a small treat in hand toget them to step-up. Allow your bird to explore their environment, but don't try to push them into interacting with you. One lesson at a time & a step-up, in & out of the cage without biting is enough for any bird to learn before moving on to other tricks & games. If your birds includes you in their exploration then ok, but take care not to make any sudden moves or touch them in any way that may upset them..
Professional trainers & performers always give a food treat to ensure afriendly, happy compliance.
Even if it's only one peck at a millet spray or a Sunflower heart for a large parrot, or half a heart for a budgie size bird...
There are some who advise you to ignore any biting. The theory is that the bird will eventually get fed-up & stop. I have not been able to find out how long eventually is but I do know ignoring hurts!
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NERVOUS BIRDS THE TAMING BIT
STEP 1 Feed treats in small portions, by placing them on the top of the cage. Then retire to a distance your birds are comfortable with, at each treat feed sit closer while they eat. When you can sit by the cage while they eat.Step 1 is complete.
STEP 2. Hold on to the treat & feed it through the front bars. If this scares them use tweezers or chopsticks for a few feeds When you can hold the food every time, as they eat. Step 2 is complete.
STEP 3 Inside the cage hold a small treat between your finger & thumb so your birds can reach it.
After a day or two of successful hand feeding. Move the treat food onto your palm so he has to step-up to eat, After a few step-up feeds. Your bird should be ready to step-up on to your hand to eat. Once step-up is completed you can let your birds out, knowing you can get them back with a treat step-up.. Allow your bird to explore their environment, but don't try to push them into interacting with you. One lesson at a time & a step-up, in & out of the cage is enough for any bird to learn before moving on to other tricks & games..If your birds includes you in their exploration then ok, but take care not to make any sudden moves that may upset them...Professional trainers & performers always give a food treat to ensure a friendly, happy compliance..Even if it's only one peck at a millet spray or a Sunflower heart for a large parrot, or half a heart for a budgie size bird...
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TAME BIRDS THAT GROW UP TO BE BITERS
Tame youngsters often develop into birds that bite occasionally for no apparent reason. Some of the usual causes are a hormonal in-balance. Where the bird may resent some or all demonstrations of affection by their owners.... He may no longer like to be cuddled or tickled in certain places. Or it could be one or more of the owners moves set him off. Then again he may just enjoy the owners reaction when he gets bored sitting around watching TV.
One answer to this problem is starting all over again with the taming prosess. & confinement until his behaviour improves.
To re-enforce what he already knows to be good behaviour & who supplies the goodies & can take them away for bad behaviour.
Interacting inside the cage with him also gives you a chance to remove yourself from a painful or dangerous situation leaving the bird in his cage alone & ignored, to think about the situation.
In the cage provide a basic seed mix & water, but all the other foods he enjoys can to be used as treat foods & fed by hand, either in the cage or through the bars, if the biting is realy bad.
Carefully watch the body language & remove the treat food at the first sign of aggression for a count of 10, then re-offer it. Do this as often as it takes.
It's just a case of, rewarding good behaviour & not rewarding bad. Don't encroach on his personal space without a treat food offering... It will be all about treats for quite some time ...
Hopefully he will gradually return to some if not all of his loving ways & will again, offer his head for a scratch. Do not be in a hurry to let him out it's up to you as the owner to try to discover what his problem is. You don't want the biting problem to comeback, do you?..There are some who advise you to ignore any biting. Their theory is that the bird will eventually get fed-up & stop... I have been unable to find out how long eventually is but I do know ignoring it b****y hurts!!!
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BIRDS BITING OWNERS OF THEIR OPPOSIT SEX
It is well known that parrots in a home situation very often favour a family memberof their opposit sex. ie. Cock birds choose the lady of the house on which to lavish their affection, & guarding her from other male members of the household. Or vice versa in the case of a hen bird. The cure requires the victim to take over as the main provider of all treats foods.
A treat food is anything edible that the bird realiy enjoys other than the normal basic seed diet. These should be fed in small portions by you (the victim) through the bars of the cage, with a pair of tweezers or chopsticks to protect your fingers.
As the bird gets used to this, very gradually over the next few days, move your fingers up & closer to the treat food as you slowly build up a bond of trust between you & the bird. Watch his body language if it looks like he's thinking of biting. Remove the treat food at once. Count ten then re-offer the treat. Do this as many times as it takes.
Feed only one type of treat per visit. The smaller the treat food portions, the more often the visits. This will show the bird that your arrival, means nice things to eat. Expect a few set backs. Birds, like people have good & bad days. Don't be in a hurry, only when your bird is happy to eat from your fingertips through the bars for several days is he ready to move on to the next step.
A step in any training program takes as long as it takes. To get him to step-up & out of the cage. Use a treat food as a lure, this will save your fingers from an accidental nip. Only allow the bird a little taste not a beak full. First offer a little taste through the bars to establish a friendly atmosphere between you.Open the door & use the treat in your left hand as a lure & a distraction & the right hand for step-up. If you've judged the time is right & your able to get him out of the cage without getting bitten. Give him another taste of the treat & plenty of praise but no touch or tickling unless you know he enjoys it.
Don't show affection to you partner in front of your bird..You don't want the biting to come back.....Many birds grow fussy about who they let touch them, much to their owners disappointment. Professionals give treats for every wanted action. This makes sure the birds are allways happy & eager to cooperate...
Just as a reminder, birds should be brought out of their cages rather than allowed to come out (escape) on their own. The house is yours & the bird must learn to respect it & your rules.
Escaping type let out, makes your home an extention of his territory in which he can do as he pleases.
BIRDS WARY OF HANDS.
In the cage provide a basic seed mix. All the other foods birds enjoy. Small treat portions mean more treat feed visits & your arrival means nice things to eat. Don't hover over them like a predator. Feed the treat food through the bars & remove the treat food for ten seconds if any fear or aggression is shown.
When the birds show no fear & are happy to eat from your fingers you can move on to hand feeding inside the cage. Use a hanky fixed to the bar above the door with clothes pegs to act as a safety curtain to prevent escaping via the open door. Your aim is to build up a strong bond of friendship & trust between you.
After a day or two of successful regular hand feeding. Your birds should be ready for step-up. For their own safety, birds should be confined to their cages until step-up has been mastered. Chasing & catching a bird can undermine any bond built up between you & your birds.
